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DIGGLE John Nelson MB BS

1921-2006

John Nelson Diggle was born on 21st January 1921 in Victoria.  He was the son of Dr James Leslie Diggle and Vida Myrtle, nee Nelson. He had a sister Alison. His father, a surgeon, served in France during WW1.  His mother, born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England was a descendant of Admiral Lord Nelson. She had been the dux of the Presbyterian Ladies College, Melbourne and was a close friend of Bertha, daughter of Sir John Monash.  During WW1 she secured a passage to England to be reunited with Diggle’s father and they were married on Armistice Day, 11th November 1918. Diggle was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne where he was captain of the school tennis team. He won the Victorian Schoolboys Championship of Tennis, in 1938 and represented Victoria in the Linton Cup in 1938 and 1939.  He moved to South Australia and studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, graduating MB BS in 1946.

He joined the Army, in 1947, after completion of his resident year.  Although many of his medical student colleagues were members of the CMF during the period of their university study there is no record that Diggle had any previous military service. He was posted to 130 AGH at BCOF in Japan.  He continued with his passion for tennis in the Army and competed in and won the Occupation Forces Tennis Tournament. His trophy is on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. On his return from Japan, in 1949, he transferred to the RAAF at the rank of Squadron Leader and worked at Laverton Hospital in Hobsons Bay, Victoria, until his discharge from the military in 1952.

He joined the Grace Park Lawn Tennis Club, in 1939, and he married Dorothy Mora, whom he met at the club, on 16th May 1951.  Dorothy was also an A grade tennis player and the Victorian Hardcourt Champion in 1950. At this time they lived in Kew, Victoria. After leaving the RAAF, he took up a private practice. Early in 1954, with his friend Howard Toyne he established Sports Medicine in Victoria.  

Later he founded the podiatry section of Sports Medicine. He was the president of Sports Medicine, Victoria, from 1970 to 1972.  Diggle maintained his involvement in tennis and, in 1973, went to the United States with the Davis Cup team. This was a memorable year for Australia in the Davis Cup competition as Australia defeated the United States with a 5-0 victory.  The Australian team of Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Rod Laver and Mal Anderson had all previously won the US men’s singles championship. He moved to Pambula Beach, Victoria in 1983, and was appointed as a specialist anaesthetist at the Pambula Hospital. He and Dorothy became active members of the community. John Nelson Diggle died on Monday 26th June 2006. He was survived by Dorothy and his son Austin, who was also was a keen tennis player and, like his father, became president of the Grace Park Tennis Club.

Source

Blood, Sweat and Fears II: Medical Practitioners of South Australia on Active Service After World War 2 to Vietnam 1945-197.

Summers, Swain, Jelly, Verco

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD